“I was wondering why you weren’t coming…” Kyle, who took the luggage lightly, fumbled inside the locker and pulled out a note.

The baggage was secretly sent to Kyle from the Tezeba branch, filled with documents he had left behind in the capital. Of course, it also contained his weapons. Kyle sighed as he read the note left by Penelope. “The information that you’re missing out on volunteer work has already reached the Imperial Family.”

“I see.”

Since she abandoned her supposed responsibilities and managed to slip past her guardian, it was only expected that another crime would add to Eleonora’s almost ceaseless list. However, Noah was now relieved of such burden. She was no longer bearing the shell of the infamous witch, and no one is aware of her true identity excluding Kyle and the little boy. At last, Noah was liberated from the chains of the witch’s name.

“Maybe there’s news in Secretary Rossinell’s ear, too. According to the personal schedule I had in advance, he’s been down to Homed since a week ago. Just in case, he slipped back like someone else,”Kyle uttered.

“Like me?”

“And like me. We need to think about whether we should hurry, or we should look at the situation and move carefully.” Kyle glanced out of the window where a carriage drawn by a horse could be seen. It was a freight carriage with a rough tent spread over the cart. Inside, the dealers from Yulem were binded by a rope, which was especially sealed with dragon’s magic.

The dealers’ train from the simple station in Noviscosha stopped short as they left the mountain range. Instead, a freight wagon was waiting in front of the severed railway. Although Laurent is said to be having remarkable progress, horses and carriages were still the main means of transportation in rural areas instead of cars and trains running on engines. With no ticket reservation records and no passenger list left, it was also perfect for secretly siphoning off illegal items.

Of course, the travel speed was much slower than the train. Hence, Noah and Kyle, along with Muell, moved at ease.

“Miss Noah, have you ever done anything suspicious to the Minister before coming down to Noviscosha?” asked Kyle.“No, not really.”

“We’ve been cleaning up our traces as much as we can so that there’s no sign of us in Noviscosha, but… If the minister starts to doubt it, there’s a chance he’ll shut down Tauren’s factory.”“But as you left Noviscosha, you telegraphed it to Tauren. Mane ore has been delivered, and he’ll be here in a week. We haven’t had any problems since then, so they haven’t noticed anything suspicious about it yet.”

“I hope so. For now, I’ll go on schedule and send a telegram to the next town. We’ll be free for a few days.”

With numerous events transpiring for nearly two months without pause, a moment of relaxation was imperative for the three travelers. Kyle spoke again, squeezing the note into his robe pocket, and shut the door of the locker. “Shall we get back to work? But I think we’ll be able to get to the nearby city by evening. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Noah looked up at the man before her. To put it bluntly, Kyle didn’t grow in size, but it was Noah who shrank. She was only seven centimeters shorter than Eleonora, but it seemed there was a huge difference. Then, Kyle glanced down at her, perhaps feeling her gaze. As soon as their eyes met, there was a subtle tremble in his violet orbs.

No other soul lingered in the post office of the small rural village. Only specks of old dust slowly drifted in the air, illuminated by the golden sunlight piercing through the windows. Engulfed in peace and quiet, it seemed as if one could hear another’s beating of the heart.

Kyle’s eyes glided across Noah’s direction without looking straight at her, and only then did she notice their close proximity. She withdrew a step. Kyle muttered, “Do you have anything to say?” His voice was awfully low.

“Yes, a lot.”

“What do you mean a lot-”

Noah grabbed Kyle’s arm. It was the first time that the two were alone for nearly three days after they left Noviscosha. Noah spent the three days in deep slumber and dreams of the past visited her every night. However, her condition had improved much better since then.

Except for one thing: her mother’s voice never left her mind.